


Of Sabers and Seoul

by ChibiPanda



Category: GOT7
Genre: Brotp-otp all based on how you read it, Exhaustion, Friendship, Mark is minor, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 06:38:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14099457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiPanda/pseuds/ChibiPanda
Summary: 'Jinyoung was observant. It was a gift he believed stemmed from his perfectionist attitude. He liked to know the whole picture before trying to put the puzzle together. Jackson was observant too, but Jinyoung knew the other’s ability was almost explicitly used in understanding others. Jackson rarely used his gift on himself, choosing instead to try and appease the masses rather than catering to his own needs. What concern Jinyoung currently, was just how deep Jackson seemed to have fallen into his own personal void.'Jackson is done being asked about his decision to leave fencing and become an idol...





	Of Sabers and Seoul

The last two weeks had been brutal. Jackson had flown straight from their Thailand concert back to China, where his schedules had literally been none stop. Since landing in his homeland, two weeks ago to the day, he had been working nineteen hour days; hosting; interviewing; variety shows; videos. It was almost endless. It certainly felt that way. Normally, Jackson was able to separate from the exhausting pace and uncomfortable questions by simply placing them into the ‘for work’ box he stored in his brain and not thinking about them again. However, running on what felt like minutes of sleep over the last fourteen days, he was struggling. It seemed like every question, comment, or remark addressed to him revolved around the Olympics, fencing, and Stanford; every single thing. Jackson loved being an idol. He loved Got7. He loved their fans. But sometimes, whenever the question starts with ‘But Stanford…’ or ‘you could have been in the Olympics if…’ and his least favorite of all, ‘so Korean idol over Chinese Olympian, huh?’

 

Jackson knew why they asked and he had answered why. He had answered these specific questions so many times, in so many languages, on so many different occasions that he was certain he’d answered them in his sleep a few times by now. He got it; really. He did. But what more did people want? He had chosen, years ago, music over fencing and that was that.

 

Even now waiting to board his flight back to Korea, Jackson still was forced to ponder those questions. His latest Instagram post was full of them. In a wave of frustration, he exited the app and went to shut off the phone altogether, pausing briefly to message Jinyoung – who demanded Jackson sent notice every time he either took off or landed – and to Mark who wanted to hang out later that night. Without waiting for a reply, he shut the phone off and leaned back against the window.

 

Sleep took over before the plane had even taken off, but it was interrupted before too long. As if fate wanted to further torment the young man from Hong Kong. Jackson was awakened when his seatmate shouted at the screen in front of him. The exhausted kid’s heavy eyes fluttered open, stiffly glancing at the offending monitor. The other man was watching old Olympic coverage; boxing to be precise. Biting back a grown, Jackson again forced his eyes shut. This time, however, sleep didn’t come again.

 

Eventually, the plane landed safely in Korea. Even though his exhaustion, Jackson found enough energy to maintain his well-crafted appearance as existed the plane, met his manager, got his luggage, and made it to the waiting car. Once concealed behind the tinted back windows of the company car, he removed his face mask and fished his phone out from his bag where he had tossed it in his earlier aggravation. With a soft click, the dead screen once again flashed to life. As expected, messages littered the locked screen. Unlocking the device, Jackson thumbed through the new texts.

 

Mark’s messages were short and numerous just as Jackson had come to expect from his friend.

– Tomorrow? –     

– My parents wanted to Skype tonight –

– Since we haven’t had a chance to talk in awhile –  

– And you should sleep –

– We can get food tomorrow. Beef? –

– Then just chill and watch something –

Each message was sent seconds after the other, written in English, and cluttered with bright colorful emoji, a trait of Mark’s messages that he had made the others swear (under threat of retaliation) to never publically mention. Though Jackson had been tempted many times.

 

Jinyoung’s were significantly longer, in Korean, and less colorful. However, they still included the kind of warmth Jackson had always associated with the younger.

– Thanks for letting me know, Seun-ah. I hope you had a restful flight. It’s just the two of us on the radio show tonight, I know the last couple weeks have probably been really tiring and a bit rough, but I think we’ll have fun. I’ll bring coffee! –

His message ended with the word *heart* rather than the vibrant images produced by the eldest, but the feeling was just as endearing.

 

Jinyoung’s second message was shorter, more rushed maybe, but to Jackson, it almost felt more impactful than the first.

– Take a breath. You’re back with us for a while. By the way, I also brought you ice cream! –

 

Just as Jackson was planning out his response to the younger, Mark once again messaged him; likely concerned since Jackson had yet to reply to the previous messages.

– I’m sorry about blowing you off –

– It’s not my intention. I want to hang out. –

– It’s just I haven’t talked to the folks in so long –

– But I miss you. It’s quiet without you man –

– BB keeps telling us how popular he is in Thailand –

– It’s obnoxious –

– Save us –

 

Jackson chuckled lightly, Mark may have been a ‘quiet’ person but if you got him going, he would just go. And texting was no different. Jackson typed out a quick – No worries bro! See you tomorrow! Tell the folks I said ‘hi’ – then he paused for a second or so. The monochrome text would likely worry the other boy slightly; the two could read each other remarkably well. So to avoid any unneeded concern, Jackson added a few kissy faces to the message before sending it.

 

He once again thumbed back to Jinyoung’s message and began to type. The slightly younger boy was also, almost frighteningly, good at reading Jackson. He had been since the two had befriended each other as trainees. He was actually the first person to ever call Jackson out on his bullshit smile when he was clearly suffering inside; Jackson found out later that Mark noticed too, but was unsure of what to say.

 

He once again looked over the resident actor’s message. He could practically feel himself overanalyzing his yet unwritten response and how his friend might interpret it. _‘It should be upbeat, but honest. Happy. I need to be happy for tonight anyway.’_ Similar thoughts traveled through his head as he composed his reply.

– Ah, my friend! Always so nice to me! Always making me happy I picked music over fencing!! –

The former athlete then decorated the message with lively images and even sent a picture of his hand in the shape of a heart to top it off.

 

Stretching his neck side to side, Jackson spoke out to the manager, “What time does the radio show start tonight? Are we heading straight there?”

 

The driving man nodded his head calmly as he signaled to change lanes, “Yes, we are heading straight there. I am sorry things are so tight tonight if you and Jinyoung-ah are interested I can get you both dinner afterward.” He paused glancing at the Chinese boy through the mirror, “If I remember correctly, none of you have schedules tomorrow. So hopefully you’ll be able to relax.” There was a tinge of sympathy and concern in his manager’s voice, a sound Jackson was used to. The man had worked with the seven of them since before they debuted and treated them as one might expect and uncle too.

 

“Alright. That sounds good. I’ll ask Jinyoung what he wants, once we met up.” He met the other eyes, then leaned his head back against the seat and drifted.

 

~*~*~

 

Jackson felt a cool hand pat his cheek gently a few times, before remaining cupped on his jaw. “Seun-ah. Seun-ah, time to wake up.” The hand moved, leaving a slight tingling sensation as the warmth returned to the spot, brushing the hair off Jackson’s forehead and combing upward removing the cap he had been wearing in the process. “Come on Seun-ah.” The voice was tender and held a concerned edge to it. Jackson rolled his head towards the sound before blinking his burning eyes open. The seat next to him was now filled with Jinyoung, who Jackson could tell even through the dim light had already had his makeup done, the door behind him was closed and the car seemed to be stopped. “You awake now?”

 

Jackson felt himself nod, as his lead eyes closed again. He tried to greet the other boy, but his voice was still too thick with sleep to offer more than a husky ‘hi.’

 

“Come on. Manager-hyung came to get me once you got here. He said you were dead tired and he didn’t want to be the one to wake you up.” The younger’s eyes shrunk with the appearance of his grin. “I’ve got ice cream and coffee in the fridge in the makeup room with your name on them.”

 

Jackson blinked a few more times, his brain seemingly rebooting with each flicker. “In-“ his voice cracked, “Inside? We already at the station?”

 

Jinyoung frowned, “Yeah.” He shifted away then and opened his door. The cold breeze that blew into the car then helped the other boy wake up more, as did the soft light from the nearby street lamp before the door closed again. Jackson just started to question what Jinyoung was doing, when his own door opened startling him. “You must be exhausted if you’re this out of it, Seun-ah.” He extended his hand towards the older boy.

 

Jackson grabbed onto it, only to discover he was still belted in. Had this occurred on a different day, Jinyoung would have burst out laughing over the ridiculous behavior. Instead, he released his hold on Jackson and leaned over to free him from the belt before standing again and pulling the former athlete up. Once upright, Jackson blinked his eyes harshly squinting to look at his surroundings. The sun had already been setting when he had been picked up and now was completely hidden from sight. He rounded back on Jinyoung, who was watching him carefully, “What time is it?”

 

“About 10:40.” Jinyoung grabbed the other by the elbow and started towards the back entrance to the station. As they approached, their manager opened the door and motioned for them to continue into the backroom. “Sit here.” The taller boy pointed to the chair facing the mirror as he let go of Jackson’s elbow. He then turned and knelt down by the mini-fridge located below the counter. After retrieving a few items, he closed it and sat on the stool facing the other boy. He paused regarding Jackson for a moment. The blonde was awake, staring at himself in the mirror, but he could clearly still fall asleep in a second if given the chance. “Here Seunie.” Jinyoung opened the ice cream cone and handed to the other, “let’s get some sugar into you.” He waited until Jackson had taken his first bite before showing him the large coffee he had prepared, “This should help some too.” He placed in on the counter.

 

“Thanks, Jinyoung,” Jackson smiled towards his friend while taking another bite; surprised by how hungry he suddenly is. Jinyoung had been right, this was waking him up quite a bit. “Our manager mentioned taking us to get dinner afterward if you are interested.” He mentioned offhandedly as he gave a small bow towards the makeup artist how entered the room, “Make me pretty!” he squealed at her with some effort.

 

“Maybe we should just do take out, then go chill at home so you can sleep. Huh?”

 

“What? No, I mean if you want to just head back after or come hang out at my place that’s cool too, but don’t worry about me.” Jackson finishes off his cone so that the makeup artist can get to work uninterrupted, “But if you wanted to go get food after, I’d be down for that.”

 

Jinyoung cocked his head to the side and observed the other. The makeup artist had clipped the blonde’s hair up so she could fully cover his face in foundation, the lighting made Jackson both appear younger and ill as it bleached the color out from his skin. Jinyoung reached out and grabbed the coffee he had placed down minutes earlier, then brought the straw to the elder’s lips. He was pleased when it was accepted with a thankful hum. Once Jackson removed his mouth from the straw, Jinyoung again placed the cup on the counter before speaking. “We’ll see how you’re feeling after the show, then decided. I’m up for either. My schedule didn’t start until two in the afternoon today.”

 

Jackson glanced over, clearly with the intention of saying something, but was silenced when the makeup artist asked him to tilt his head up. Once she was finished, and the person in charge of hair began to work, he continued with his thought. “I’ll feel up for it. Price to pay for being an idol right? Though, it probably would have been similar if I had stayed an athlete.” The words spewed forth in some unstoppable title wave so that even Jackson wasn’t sure why he said them. He reached out and grabbed his coffee as a spike of unnecessary anxiety rose within him.

 

Jinyoung regarded him for a few minutes, allowing his friend to start a conversation with the woman currently fixing his hair. He was keenly aware that Jackson had now brought up fencing in some fashion twice in as many hours. In the past, soon after they had debuted, this might have been normal. Everyone was interested in the champion Hong Kong athlete turned Korean Idol, and everyone wanted Jackson to demonstrate his skills; either that or flip on command like some trained baboon. However, the novelty had long since worn off. At least that was what he had assumed.

 

Just as Jackson’s hair and makeup were finishing up, the production director popped his head into the room, “the show is going to start in fifteen. Head on over to room 7a once you are all finished up in here.” The man paused looking down at his clipboard, “We have the usual things scheduled, as well as a segment, where you’ll be able to answer some fan questions on Twitter. I am afraid because of the tight timeline, we weren’t able to preselect questions. So you both will just have to pick and choose as they come.” The man exited just as quickly as he had come.

 

“Ready to make more wonder fans fall deep in love with you actor ways?” Jackson fluttered his eyelashes at his friend, but Jinyoung was still studying him.

 

 _‘Something is definitely off tonight.’_ Though now was not the time for Jinyoung to voice his concerns, instead he grinned at the other and the two headed off to the recording room together.

 

~*~*~

 

Jinyoung was observant. It was a gift he believed stemmed from his perfectionist attitude. He liked to know the whole picture before trying to put the puzzle together. Jackson was observant too, but Jinyoung knew the other’s ability was almost explicitly used in understanding others. Jackson rarely used his gift on himself, choosing instead to try and appease the masses rather than catering to his own needs. What concern Jinyoung currently, was just how deep Jackson seemed to have fallen into his own personal void.

 

The younger had been concerned, though he wouldn’t admit it initially when Jackson had messaged him back seemingly bringing up his former fencing out of the darkness. Then, again when the blonde had somehow managed to fall into a deep sleep sitting up, strapped into a car, head cocked painfully to the left, during a rather short car ride from the airport to the radio station. Jinyoung knew his friend’s schedule was a nightmare, if he were being honest none of them had a ‘good’ schedule with regards to their personal health, but Jackson always pushed himself to the brink and beyond.

 

Then the blonde brought up athletics again in the dressing room and now decided to answer three Twitter questions directed to him about the subject.

 

“So yeah, I mean going to the Olympics would have been cool. Obviously. But I just realized it wasn’t really my passion. It was a hard decision to come to, and I was worried whether or not it was the right decision for a long time. Especially, when I first made it and I thought my relationship with my father might suffer because of it.”

 

Jinyoung scowled momentarily before remembering the camera was on them. He reached for the rapper’s now empty coffee cup in an attempt to gain the other’s attention, but the action went unnoticed as the blonde continued his speech; which was leaning more towards self-degradation.

 

“And @Lissa231S4 questioned about the whole Stanford thing. That would never have worked out. Best case scenario, I would have managed to maintain the fencing scholarship throughout the four years. But, I mean I’m not that smart, and I probably would have gotten injured or just been passed up in skill by some other person. And without a scholarship, there is no way I’d be able to stay there. My grades would probably be awful.” The blonde boy forced a laugh at his own expense before looking back at Twitter to read the final question. “@CandyBear992 wanted to know if I ever thought I made the wrong choice.”

 

Jinyoung didn’t want to hear Jackson answer this question again. All of Got7 had heard the answer and all of them knew how much it cut into their friend each time, but Jackson was in a spiral. _‘I just need to get his attention.’_ Jinyoung leaned back in his chair, making sure it simply looked like a harmless convincing stretch, but when Jackson still did not notice the movement the younger boy forced the chair to tip back. This created a comical bang as the chair landed back on all fours and he pretended to have nearly fallen. The actor gave a sheepish impression as he apologized, and as casually he as he could run his first fingers in circles around one another as he locked eyes with Jackson. He watched as the blonde’s eyes flashed with recognition upon noticing the signal.

 

“Ha! Jinyoung-shii you almost crashed there! Am I boring you with my sob stories too much,” Jackson gave an apologetic smile, “Why don’t you pick the last question then?”

 

Knowing how he should react, Jinyoung covered his mouth as he chuckled brightly. “First I’ll answer CandyBear for you. No, he doesn’t regret it because it was the right choice.” Without missing a beat he segwayed into the final question; one he had picked out during Jackson’s earlier rant. “@ActorJinyoung, since you and Jackson-oppa are such good friends, what is the best thing he has ever done for you? Since we have been on the topic, Seunie chose us.” He gave a squinty grin and laughed.

 

Jackson followed suit easily, “Ah~ that can’t be the answer Jinyoung! I didn’t know you when I decided to join JYP…Actor Jinyoung, who has the best uses name ever, is going to be disappointed in your response.” The boy then released his trademark cackle.

 

“Ahh, then the way you always offer me support. Better?”

 

The room filled with laughter again.  

 

~*~*~

 

The boys had opted to go back to Jackson’s apartment, his roommate was currently working on a project in Atlanta, and order in rather than go to a restaurant. Jinyoung had done the ordering and Jackson had brought out the collapsible table and placed it near the couch.

 

The two sat in comfortable silence, watching some drama that had been recorded as they waited for their food to arrive.

 

Jackson’s light chuckle brought Jinyoung’s attention away from the television. What the elder didn’t answer, he gave a curious grunt to prompt him.

 

“Huh,” the blonde’s eyes glanced up from his phone. “Oh. Mark-hyung, ‘you guys did great. I assume you're chilling together somewhere. Tell Jinyoung to keep your mind in one piece and make you sleep. See you tomorrow.”

 

Jinyoung laughed at that too. “What? He couldn’t just have messaged me himself.”

 

“He says he did but you haven’t answered.”

 

Even without the cameras present his hand came up to his mouth to hide the laugh that erupted forth.

 

The doorbell rang and Jackson left his still giggling friend to answer it. Returning moments later with their meal. “Dinner is served. Or maybe breakfast seeing as it is 3 in the morning.”

 

More laughter followed until food took over the conversation.

 

Jackson interrupted the silence first, “Thanks. I was kind of lost earlier. It was just a really long couple weeks. And everyone has been asking about the fencing stuff and I…”

 

“Seunie. Breathe. It’s my job.” With that he shoved a lettuce wrap into his still open mouth, causing him to sputter.

 

And the two broke into laughter again.  

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope someone found joy in this fic. It was inspired by two things; Jacks and Jinyoung's great friendship and the fact Jinyoung has a hand signal he uses with Jackson.
> 
> To the -.0001% that might also be reading (and therefore waiting for) my Derry fic - I am working on it. I am so sorry it is taking forever. Life is just a massive pain and those chapters are long and detailed. <3


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